Added by badwolf on 2 Jan 2011 02:17

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Batman and related films

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Decade: Rating: List Type:

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Early inspiration and film serials

6.5

The Bat (1926)

Could you believe that Bob Kane’s inspiration for Batman was a murderer wearing a bat mask and stalking people in an old mansion, haunting them with an early bat signal? The killer’s inventory also features a grappling hook.

230

8.2

7.7

The Man Who Laughs (1928)

Not related to Batman himself, but too good to ignore: Kane and writer Bill Finger used the main character of this film for the visual inspiration of The Joker, Batman’s archenemy. Comic history -changing performance by Conrad Veidt.

7.6

6.4

The Bat Whispers (1930)

Remake of the film mentioned above, even by the same director. This was the one Bob Kane saw. He has stated that this film and The Mark of Zorro (1920) influenced him to create the iconography associated with Batman.

6.1

Batman

The first filmed appearance of Batman is a 15-part film serial. First introduction of the bat cave (As The Bat’s Cave) and a secret entrance to it through a long case clock. Also helped to root an idea of butler Alfred (played by William Austin) to be in trim physique with a thin moustache, instead of the overweight clean-shaven Alfred in the comics at the time.

Batman: Lewis Wilson
Robin: Douglas Croft

6.7

6.2

Batman and Robin (1949)

A 15-part serial sequel didn’t introduce anything new to the Batman mythos, perhaps with the exception of the actors being replaced all the time.

Batman: Robert Lowery
Robin: Johnny Duncan

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West / Ward era

664

6.8

7.5

Batman (1966)

The first TV series featuring the character. The series took a family-friendly campy approach. Title sequence, theme music, cliffhangers, fight scenes, dialogue and numerous entire episodes have became (in)famous. On the other hand, during its three-season and 120 episode run it truly launched Batman into public consciousness. Some characters created for the show, such as Chief Miles O’Hara, went on to appear in the comics.

Batman: Adam West
Robin: Burt Ward

484

6.6

6.5

Batman: The Movie

This feature film spin-off of the series was Batman’s first full-length cinema adventure. It was filmed between seasons one and two. For its style, see the TV series mentioned above - or the picture below, where Batman battles against a shark.

Batman: Adam West
Robin: Burt Ward

Return to the Batcave: The Misadventures of Adam and Burt

6.6

Return to the Batcave: The Misadventures of Adam and Burt... (2003)

In a fourth wall -breaking return to their classic roles, Adam West and Burt Ward are in a search for a stolen Batmobile set piece, while young actors re-act events that took place during the filming of the series.

(in flashback scenes)
Batman: Jack Brewer
Robin: Jason Marsden

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Burton / Schumacher -era

5151

7.1

7.5

Batman (1989)

A new Batman movie had been in the works since the 70s. In the meanwhile, comic writers tried to return the character to his dark roots. The real success came with Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns in 1986, and its cinema equivalent by Tim Burton hit the silver screens three years later. The movie was a box office success and its serious approach with a Gothic-style Gotham replaced the campy West-era Batman still lingering in most people’s minds.

Batman: Michael Keaton

4402

6.8

7.1

Batman Returns

Burton continued as the director and crafted further his dark vision of the character. For some the film became too dark: parents complained about dark imagery, violence unsuitable for children and sexual innuendos. McDonalds went so far that they cancelled their Happy Meal toy-line for the film.

Batman: Michael Keaton

3849

5.2

5.4

Batman Forever (1995)

Too dark, depressing and weird, Batman Returns wasn’t the box office success Warner Bros. wanted it to be. In response, Joel Schumacher replaced Burton as a director and the series returned to more family-friendly tone. Forever combines Burton’s Gothic Batman with the colourfulness of 60’s Batman. Mixed was also reaction to the film, even though it fared better at the box office than Returns did.

Batman: Val Kilmer
Robin: Chris O’Donnell

3568

4.3

3.8

Batman & Robin (1997)

With the fourth film in the series Schumacher went on further with the campy approach. The film was universally banned, and the fifth film Batman Triumphant, which was ready to go, was cancelled. It’s incredible how a movie can be so hated even more than a decade after its release.

Batman: George Clooney
Robin: Chris O’Donnell

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Nolan era

7322

7.5

8.2

Batman Begins (2005)

After an hiatus of eight years the Caped Crusader returned to theatres … to start his career as the protector of Gotham. Under Christopher Nolan’s supervision the film series was rebooted with darker and more realistic tones than the ones used previously.

Batman: Christian Bale

7768

8.3

The Dark Knight (2008)

With his wildly anticipated and critically acclaimed sequel to Batman Begins Chris Nolan continued to work in a dark, yet realistic world. The Dark Knight crossed over billion dollars world-wide, making it the fourth highest-grossing film at time - what can I possibly say that hasn‘t already been said?

Batman: Christian Bale

3808

7.7

8.4

The Dark Knight Rises (2012)

Last of the Nolan series, but very likely Warner Bros. won’t let the Caped Crusader slip away even after Nolan and Bale have left the franchise.

Batman: Christian Bale

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Animated TV series and films

1440

7.9

Batman: The Animated Series (1992)

Following the gritty style Burton and Batman writers managed to seal as a part of Batman, TAS used mature themes and writing along with stylised and dark artwork. TAS found success in several age demographics and belongs among the most loved animated series in TV history.

Some of the characters originally created for the series, such as Harley Quinn, became so popular that they made it to comics. Another example is Mr. Freeze, who was basically lifted from death with a new back-story that earned the show an Emmy Award. The back-story became part of character’s official canon and was also used in live action film Batman & Robin five years later.

Batman: Kevin Conroy
Robin: Loren Lester

671

7.5

7.8

Batman: Mask of the Phantasm

A feature film spin-off of TAS was released in theatres between seasons one and two. During its original run it didn’t gather much attention (or its six-million-dollar budget) but has ever since been getting the same well-deserved attention as TAS.

Batman: Kevin Conroy

245

6.9

7.1

Batman and Mr. Freeze: SubZero

A stand-alone sequel to Mask of the Phantasm, done a couple years after TAS by the same talented filmmakers, was delayed for a while and then released direct-to-video due to live action adventures of Mr. Freeze.

Batman: Kevin Conroy
Robin: Loren Lester

314

7.2

8.5

The New Batman Adventures (1997)

Successor to The Animated Series. Takes place in the same continuity but has differences in animation style and character designs.

Batman: Kevin Conroy
Robin: Mathew Valencia

184

6.2

6.6

Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman

A direct-to-DVD sequel to The New Animated Adventures.

Batman: Kevin Conroy
Robin: Eli Marienthal

609

6.9

8.1

Batman Beyond (1999)

The new animated series took place 40 years in the future, where Bruce Wayne has long ago abandonned crime-fighting and it's up to a new youngster to asume the role of Batman. Kevin Conroy reprises his role as Bruce Wayne. Despite negative preconseptions, the series turned out to be a favourite among critics and audiences, just like TAS.

Batman: Will Friedle

457

7.1

7.7

Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker

A direct-to-video spin-off sees the return of Batman's arch-enemy. Mark Hamill plays once again Joker, a role in which he landed in TAS for the first time.

Batman: Will Friedle

283

5.7

7.3

The Batman (2004)

A new animated series returned to more basic formula: instead of distant future, The Batman takes place in the third year of Bruce Wayne's crime-fighting days.

Batman: Rino Romano
Robin: Jerry O'Connell

181

5.2

6.6

The Batman vs. Dracula (2005)

A direct-to-video spin-off, which - even though about a silly subject - was much darker than the animated series going on at time.

Batman: Rino Romano

234

7.3

Batman: The Brave and the Bold

This animated series sees the Caped Crusader teaming up with other superheroes of DC Universe; however, Batman is the only main character. The show's tone is much lighter than of the previous ones.

Batman: Diedrich Bader

330

6.6

6.8

Batman: Gotham Knight (2008)

An anthology of six animated short stories set between Batman Begins and The Dark Knight. All segments are based on anime art style but each have their own distinct style, somewhat like in The Animatrix.

Batman: Kevin Conroy

452

7.4

8.1

Batman: Under the Red Hood (2010)

An animated DC Universe Original movie based on the comic book storylines A Death in the Family and Under the Hood, released directly to DVD.

Batman: Bruce Greenwood
Nightwing: Neil Patrick Harris

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Miscellanous

5.8

Yarasa adam - Bedmen (1973)

A Turkish rip-off which has very low production values. For more Turkish lack of imagination, see Turkish Delights by Tumppimies.

"Bedmen": Levent Çakir
"Berobin": Hüseyin Sayan

198

6.5

6.4

Birds of Prey (2002)

Batman's legacy lives on in a TV series featuring several supporting characthers from the franchise, the main character being the daughter of Batman and Catwoman.

No Batman or Robin.

1761

3.8

3.3

Catwoman (2004)

Development for Catwoman’s spin-off film began right after Batman Returns, with Michelle Pfeiffer returning as the titular character and Tim Burton attached to direct. The project set course to development hell, saw many different directors, scripts and main actresses. Finally, the Batman spin-off without Batman was released in 2004 starring Halle Berry and directed by Pitof. The result is even worse than Batman & Robin.

No Batman or Robin.

Batman, a combination of Zorro and Sherlock Holmes, is a superhero created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger in the late 1930s. After his first appearance in Detective Comics #27 in May 1939 he has become one of the most famous comic book superheroes, who appears not only in comics, but in films, TV and video games as well. His popularity is often explained by the fact that unlike several other comic book superheroes he has no superpowers what-so-ever, and even though in "real life" he is billionaire Bruce Wayne, he has to trust his strength and intellect to defeat the powers threatening Gotham City, which sets him apart from several other comic book heroes.

The list begins with some films that influenced the creation of Batman. On the other hand, I'm not counting parodies or fan films since there are just too many to list. Also, to be listed, the focus of the movie / TV show must must be on Batman (or some other key figure of Gotham City). There have been countless cross-overs and ensemble films (such as SuperFriends and JLA movies) but since they are not specifically about Batman, they're not listed. Otherwise, the list would get really confusing.

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My related lists:

Die Hard and related films (trivia)